The Karzak Gambit
by dragoncymru
Summary: The Doctor takes Megan on her first trip in the TARDIS. But they land on a cargo vessel in deep space where the terrifying Karzak have a plot to destroy a colony world. This is the next story in my series and follows on from 'The Curse of the Jassra'.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

Unauthorised hands worked quickly at a control panel. Complex codes and figures raced across a computer screen above the panel and it flashed from green to red. The hands stopped typing as a sharp beeping sound started from a nearby terminal. The figure quickly crossed from his panel to the terminal and hit a key to stop the beeping sound before someone heard it. The figure paused and listened, but no-one seemed to have noticed. The only sound was the reassuring throb of the _Eclipse_'s engines. But that was about to change.

The figure crossed the engineering bay, checked the readings on some more dials and then attached a small device underneath a panel. On the device was a small timer that had a digital display that read '300'. The figure produced a similar device, entered a code sequence and then pressed a button. The reading on the timer started counting down. The saboteur pocketed the control device and the slipped away into the shadows.

*******************

Cal awoke with a start as the ship gave a massive lurch. He looked around in alarm and pushed back the tarpaulin that covered his little hideaway. But Cargo Hold 4, his regular haunt when skiving off duty, was empty apart from the cargo pallets themselves, all neatly aligned in rows. He rubbed his eyes and looked blearily down at his watch; he must have been asleep for nearly two hours. Cal scratched the stubble on his chin and then stretched. His coveralls weren't exactly comfortable for sleeping in but then he smiled to himself; another shift missed. Not that Daniels would even notice!

Cal suddenly noticed the silence. It was quiet down in the cargo hold; that's why it was ideal for 'naps', but there was always the relentless throb of the engines. Now the engines were silent. He got to his feet and then reached out for support as the ship gave another lurch. Something had definitely hit it. Were they being attacked? He walked across the hold to one of the hatches and pressed the control panel. With a mechanical shudder, the hatch opened slowly.

That's when Cal heard the screams.

**1.**

The flashing lamp on top of the TARDIS as it materialised was the only light in the metal chamber. Similarly, the strange wheezing, groaning sound of the TARDIS as it left the mysterious Time Vortex, was the only sound. The noise of the TARDIS engines reverberated around the chamber before it stopped and the door opened.

The Doctor stepped out, putting on his usual long brown coat over his dark blue jacket. "Blimey Megan," he exclaimed, "you gave that Helmic Regulator quite a push! I don't know where you've brought us!"

Megan Williams followed the Doctor out, biting her lip in embarrassment. "Sorry, but I didn't know where to lean! You could've warned me!"

Katherine de Gallois laughed at Megan's faux pas and closed the door to the TARDIS behind her. "First rule," she admonished Megan, trying – and failing – to impersonate the Doctor. "Only do what I say!"

The Doctor grinned, showing Megan that he wasn't really angry. "Oh, this is how it's going to be is it, two against one?" He raised his eyebrows at Katherine who nodded with an impish smile on her face.

Megan pulled her denim jacket around her and shivered. "It's cold wherever we are!" Her footsteps echoed on the metal floor as she took a few steps. "Any idea at all Doctor?"

The Doctor pushed his hands into his pockets and took a deep breath. Much to Megan and Katherine's amazement he then bounced up and down and then put his ear to the metal floor. "Ah, thought so," he muttered.

The girls exchanged a look. "Well?" asked Katherine, rolling her eyes at the Doctor's showing off.

The Doctor grinned and walked across to a small, rectangular hatch in the dark metal wall. He pressed a button underneath it and with a groan of old machinery, the hatch juddered open. Diffuse light filtered into the chamber. The Doctor peered through the hatch. "Come and take a look!"

Megan walked across to the Doctor and peered through the hatch. What she saw made her gasp in amazement and a broad smile spread quickly across her face.

She was looking out onto the inky vastness of space.

**2.**

Katherine joined her friends to look out of the hatch and onto the breathtaking vista that was filed with twinkling stars and the light from distant galaxies.

Megan squealed with utter delight. "We're on a spaceship! You said we could go anywhere, but I never…." She trailed off and gazed in wonder at the star-scape before her. This was her first trip in the TARDIS and the magical view of space from the hatch window would stay with her forever.

The Doctor smiled at his new companion. He never failed to feel so much pride in showing them the amazing sights of the universe. Now that the little light from the stars outside had illuminated the room, the Doctor noticed a hatchway in the opposite wall. "It looks like we're in some kind of cargo hold. No cargo though. I wonder what's outside." He walked across to it and pressed the control panel on the wall. Nothing happened. The Doctor clicked his tongue with irritation and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. There was a brief hum as the end glowed bright blue and the door juddered open with a tiny whine of power.

The Doctor stepped through the door, Katherine a few steps behind him. Tearing herself away from the incredible starry vista, Megan followed them through the doorway.

The Doctor looked up and down the corridor, wrinkling his nose in disappointment. "Dear me, there's been some damage here!"

Megan was more forthright. "What a dump!"

Cables trailed along the dusty corridor floor, snaking between open panels and ducts. A computer terminal was close to the door, but its' panels were smashed and the screen dark. Wires poured uselessly from innards behind it. The Doctor ran a finger along the panel and held it up, now covered with muck and dust. "Best sack the cleaning lady!" he mused.

Suddenly, they heard a steady hum of something coming from up the corridor towards them. Hovering a metre or so above the metal floor were two robots. Shaped like two spheres, one on top of the other, and covered with various appendages and mechanical tools, the robots clicked and whirred as they approached.

**3.**

The Doctor smiled winningly at the robots. "Hello guys? What are you then?"

The hum of the two floating robots suddenly increased in pitch as they approached. Despite the Doctor's cheery greeting, their speed did not decrease and Katherine had to take a step backwards to avoid being knocked over by them as they hovered past.

"Charming," muttered the Doctor indignantly. "Was it something I said?"

The robots continued to float down the corridor until they turned a corner and vanished from sight.

"What now?" asked Katherine, somewhat amused by the Doctor's frustration as she caught Megan's eye.

The Doctor regarded her suspiciously as he saw the familiar smile on her face. "Let's just look around!"

The Doctor, Katherine and Megan walked up the corridor in the same direction as the robots. As they turned the same corner, there was no sign of them. The corridor continued but there was another hatch in the wall with a control panel next to it that had a dim light illuminated above it."

"Looks like this is working," commented the Doctor cheerfully as he pressed the button. With an electronic groan, the door juddered open and the Doctor stepped through. He coughed. "Well, just about anyway!"

Katherine and Megan went to follow him but the Doctor's voice rang out from inside. "Stop, don't come in here!" he ordered them, his voice suddenly cold.

But it was too late. Megan and Katherine both stepped inside and saw what was in the dimly illuminated room. It was a sight that neither would forget in a very long time. The room was about the same shape and size as the one the TARDIS had landed in, but this was far from empty. Bodies of men and women, all dressed in simple coveralls of various colours lay dead on the floor. There must have been at least a dozen, all with the fatal burn marks and scorches of energy weapons on their chests and heads.

"Oh my God, it's a massacre!" whispered Megan and put a hand to her mouth. "I think I'm going to be sick!" She turned away and leant on the wall for support, retching uncontrollably.

**4**.

The Doctor turned and quickly escorted a horrified Katherine back into the corridor. He then reached inside and gently pulled Megan outside as well. She was breathing deeply and deathly pale.

"Doctor, what happened?" whispered Katherine. "Did all those poor souls die in there?"

The Doctor shook his head. "They were brought there. There were drag marks on the floor."

"Why bring dead bodies here?"

The Doctor looked away, his tongue in his cheek. "Keeping things neat? A larder perhaps?" he ventured softly.

Megan swallowed hard, trying to regain her composure. "Let's get out of here!"

"No," the Doctor's voice was firm. "Let's find out what's going on."

They travelled further into the ship, but only a few minutes later, they heard the familiar hum of the robots they had encountered previously. This time the hum was louder and around the corner floated five of them. The Doctor was determined to be acknowledged this time and stood in the middle of the corridor, his hands held up. "Alright, alright, let's talk about this shall we?"

As before, the floating robots showed no sign of slowing as they approached, but this time, their hum was definitely much higher in pitch, almost like that of an angry bee or wasp. These models were also slightly larger than those they had encountered earlier and had metallic blue insignia.

Katherine clutched at the Doctor's arm with concern. "Doctor?" she warned.

Suddenly, the robots raised their mechanical arms. Rather than tools, they ended in sharp pincers that clicked and snapped viciously.

The Doctor's expression changed as he realised the robots were hostile, but it was too late.

Two of the robots flew at the Doctor who through himself quickly against the corridor wall to avoid them. Katherine ducked as another two flew over her, missing her hair by inches. Megan however picked up a rusty piece of metal piping from the floor and threw it at the robot that attacked her. It connected with a heavy clang, throwing the robot off kilter and it collided into the corridor wall.

"Run!" shouted the Doctor as he grabbed Katherine's hand and started pelting up the corridor and back towards the TARDIS. Megan started running too, but misunderstood the Doctor's instruction and instead ran down the corridor, sprinting around the corner and deeper into the ship.

**5.**

The Doctor and Katherine sped around another corner and the Doctor risked a glance behind him. Much to his relief, they had lost the robots. He slowed to a halt, and took a few deep breaths. Katherine closed her eyes and leant against the corridor wall, panting with the exertion.

Suddenly the Doctor realised that Megan wasn't with them. "Where's Megan?" he asked Katherine who opened her eyes and looked around worriedly. "Terrific," he continued, first trip out and does she listen? It must be a characteristic of you lot!"

"We'll have to go back for her," gasped Katherine, worried about her friend. "She doesn't know how dangerous it can be!"

The Doctor nodded "And before she gets into more trouble."

*****************

Megan hurtled around the corner and skidded to a halt with a gasp. In front of her was a man holding up a large and heavy metal wrench. The man, who was in his mid twenties, handsome with greased back brown hair and a chin rough with stubble, wore dark red coveralls. He was sweating profusely and breathing hard as if he too had been running for his life. When he realised that it was just Megan, the aggressive glint went from his eyes, but he still held the wrench firmly. "Who the Hell are you?" he shouted.

"Megan, Megan Williams" Megan gasped, backing away slightly.

"How did you get on the _Eclipse_?"

"I'm here with friends. We're here to help. Who are you?"

The man, sensing that Megan was telling the truth, took a deep breath and lowered the wrench. "I'm Weaver; Cal Weaver."

"Look, we've got to get out of here," urged Megan. "There are some mean looking robots chasing me!"

Weaver shook his head. "They're just security 'bots trying to protect the ship. They'll attack anyone who isn't wearing one of these." He held up a round metallic badge that he wore on the chest of his coverall.

Megan started to breathe a little more easily. "Okay, remind me to get one! Look Cal, what happened here? Why does the ship need protecting anyway?"

Weaver wiped a hand across his brow. "We've been boarded by aliens!"

**6.**

Megan blinked slowly, stunned by Weaver's revelation. "Aliens, you're joking!" she spluttered.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" snarled Weaver angrily. "The ship was sabotaged and we lost power. Suddenly this great ruddy ship appears and locks on to us!"He looked away. "I reckon they've killed most of the crew by now" he said quietly. "I guess I was lucky!" His voice broke and Megan touched his arm sympathetically. She remembered that terrible scene in the cargo hold all too well.

"Come on," she said encouragingly, "let's find the Doctor; he'll know what to do."

***********************

The Doctor and Katherine were hurrying back down the corridor, when a sudden thought struck Katherine. "Doctor, why did the robots attack us this time? They just ignored us the first time."

The Doctor chewed his lip. "Good question Katherine." He thought for a moment. "Of course, did you notice that these ones were different? They had some kind of blue logo and were a different shape. The first ones were probably just maintenance workers, not programmed to deal with intruders." He started back up the corridor, Katherine behind him. "But the next lot – they were security!"

Suddenly the Doctor stopped and put his hand over Katherine's mouth. She looked at him in alarm, but then heard the noises and understood. Ahead of them, from around the corner, cam the unmistakeable noise of approaching heavy footsteps accompanied by low growls and panting breath.

The Doctor looked around desperately and luckily there was another hatch close by them. He whipped out his sonic screwdriver, gave the hatch a low burst, and tugged it manually sideways. It slid open as the Doctor quickly pulled Katherine through and pushed it closed again, just leaving a small crack from which to peer out.

Marching around the corner came four alien creatures. Standing upright at around six feet, they looked like hyenas with long black snouts, dark eyes and a bony ridge of muscle that ran from the end of their snout to the top of their head disappearing under a mass of dark, coarse and matted fur. They were dressed in heavy leather jerkins, belted at the waist, and that ended just above the knee to reveal muscular furred hind legs that ended with fearsome claws.

The creatures stopped near the hatch, growling and sniffing the air.


	2. Chapter 2

**7**.

The Doctor flattened himself behind the half open hatch as the creatures paused and swung their grizzled heads from side to side. Katherine hardly dared to breathe in case the aliens heard her, but fortunately there was a soft beep from a communicator on one of the alien's belts. It picked it up and growled into it in a low, rasping voice. "Understood." Much to the Doctor and Katherine's relief, the creatures shuffled away up the corridor.

Katherine took a deep breath. "Doctor, what were those things?"

The Doctor took a quick peek around the hatch but the creatures had gone. "They're called Karzak. I've never encountered them before, but what I've heard isn't pleasant. They're scavengers, slavers or hunters. Selling for profit, no matter what the deal or who gets hurt along the way. Some very nasty eating habits too, not people you'd invite round for dinner!"

Katherine made a face "Charming as always!"

The Doctor smiled a little forcedly, clearly worried. He looked around the room where they had hidden. It was an auxiliary control room with some computer panels and screens, all shut down and offline. He blew out a breath. "Oh, I've had enough of wandering blindly about in the dark. Now the Karzak are onboard it could be dangerous too." He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and set to work on one of the panels. "If I get some of this going," he said distractedly as he worked, putting some loose wires in his mouth, "we might be able to set up a life scan and see if anyone else is still around; Karzak included if I can get the settings right." He glanced up at Katherine and winked. "And we'll be able to find Megan too!"

Katherine smiled back. "Good."

"Here, hold this," the Doctor continued, passing Katherine the sonic screwdriver after he'd given the control boards a quick pulse. "Now if I'm cooking with gas today….."

The panel suddenly flared into life, then died away. The Doctor gave it a quick thump and this time it rebooted and stayed on, controls and readings starting to register. "Oh, I'm just so good!" he whooped delightedly as the screen above it came on and showed details of the ship.

The Doctor put on his glasses, interlaced his fingers and stretched them. "Okay, now for the tricky part………."

**8.**

Megan and Weaver crept carefully through the corridors of the _Eclipse_.

Megan was desperately trying to get her bearings and find the Doctor and Katherine, but all the corridors looked very similar to her and she was sure in her mind that she was lost. She glanced at Weaver; he was clearly edgy and clutched the heavy wrench tightly, so Megan decided to keep her manner light and positive.

"Not far now!" she whispered with far more confidence than she actually felt.

Weaver just grunted in reply when suddenly he stopped. "Someone's coming!" he hissed and held the wrench high, ready to strike.

Megan looked at him in alarm, but she could hear someone approaching and they didn't seem to be hiding the noise of their footsteps either. Steeling herself for a confrontation, she ducked behind Weaver for protection.

The noise of the footsteps got louder until around the corner of a corridor walked a young woman. She jumped back as Weaver gave a yell and was about to hit her with the wrench until he recognised who she was and stopped himself just in time. "Lyla!"

The young woman was attractive, with short ash blonde hair and striking blue eyes. She wore a dark green coverall and even, Megan noticed jealously, managed to look good in it. The woman's eyes flashed with both alarm and anger. "Weaver, what do you think you're doing?" she snapped.

Cal Weaver was at once cowed. "Sorry Lyla, I didn't know it was you. I thought it was one of those things that boarded us!"

The woman ran her fingers through her blonde hair. "I think the Karzak have got more important things to worry about right now." Then she noticed Megan and raised her eyebrows. "Who are you?"

Megan stretched out her hand to shake Lyla's but the other woman ignored it. "I'm Megan Williams."

"I'm Lyla Tann, the _Eclipse_'s navigator. How did you get aboard?"

Megan was taken aback by the woman's rudeness. "I landed here by accident with my friends."

"Friends," Lyla asked sharply, "where are they now?"

Starting to get annoyed by Lyla's attitude, Megan snapped back "probably looking for me!"

"Then we better find them before we get to the colony on Garrok Six."

**9.**

The Doctor and Katherine peered at the computer screen as the Doctor tapped some keys on the control panel. "It looks like we're on the SS _Eclipse_, a cargo vessel heading for the colony world of Garrok 6."

Katherine raised her eyebrows for the Doctor to explain but he continued to look at the screen as more information flashed up. "Look, this is the crew manifest; Captain Erik Daniels commanding." More names followed on the list. "Fifteen in all Katherine" the Doctor sighed, "probably all dead now."

Katherine shuddered remembering the gruesome scene in the cargo hold. "Why kill them all?"

The Doctor rubbed his chin. "That's a good question. The Karzak, from what I've heard of them, are hunters and slavers; why not just keep the crew alive and sell then into slavery?" The Doctor's eyes widened as he thought. "No!" His mind raced. "Yes! No," he contradicted himself, "they'd need computer codes to get in!"

Katherine was starting to get impatient. "Doctor, will you please explain yourself" she almost yelled.

The Doctor turned to her excitedly. "What if the _Eclipse_ isn't the real target?" he gabbled. "We're heading for Garrok 6; a colony world, lots of potential slaves there all right. But, ah, how can they get in, because Garrok 6, if I remember correctly, has an energy shield to protect the colony from attack?" He paused and Katherine just rolled her eyes; she knew he was about to explain anyway. "I'll tell you. You hijack a cargo ship that's going there anyway, they'll have the correct protocol codes and you can slip right in!" He took a deep breath after all the frantic explanation and scratched his head. "They'd still need to access the codes from the computer though and they'd be pretty secure; only some of the crew would know them."

Katherine caught the Doctor's arm. "Then we'd better find Megan."

The Doctor nodded a little guiltily. "Yes, you're right, we had." He turned back to the panel and his hands flew across the keys until a schematic of the _Eclipse_ appeared on it. "Keying in these life scans can be a bit tricky," muttered the Doctor, "especially if you want to be human-specific." Three white dots appeared on the screen. "It looks like Megan has found company!" he said slowly.

Suddenly, another five dots, this time red in colour, appeared on the screen. They were moving steadily towards the three white dots.

**10.**

Megan looked blankly at Lyla. "What's so important about the colony on Garrok Six?" she asked.

It was Weaver that answered. "We're supposed to pick up our cargo there; that's why the holds are empty."

Megan nodded, beginning to understand, but glared at Lyla. "Thanks, it's nice to be kept in the loop!"

Lyla's eyes flashed, but she sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, but it's been hard to stay alive around here. The Karzak are patrolling the corridors, picking off any crew that are left."

Megan put her hands on her hips. "You managed it."

Lyla didn't rise to the implied challenge. "Let's just find your friends?" She pulled out a hand-held scanner from one of the pockets of her green coverall. "I should be able to locate them with this." She altered a control and it gave an intermittent bleeping as she swept it around. "Up here," she stated and started up the corridor.

Megan tried to get a look at what Lyla had found, but the other woman had put the scanner back in her coverall before Megan got the chance. Megan looked at Weaver for support, but he just shrugged, overwhelmed by Lyla's air of authority. "Better do as she says," he mumbled.

Taking a deep breath, and followed by Weaver, Megan started up the corridor behind Lyla. As they reached an in intersection in the corridor however, Megan could hear footsteps approaching. Her smile of anticipation and relief in seeing the Doctor and Katherine again turned to fear as she realised there were more than just two pairs of footsteps, and that those footsteps were accompanied by ragged panting and snarling.

Out of the side corridor of the intersection, lurched four Karzak. Megan screamed and broke into a run, but the Karzak nearest her caught her before she had gone a few metres. Two other Karzak had grabbed Weaver and forced the heavy wrench from his grasp.

It was only then that Megan noticed that the Karzak had not touched Lyla and the pieces fell into place. "You bitch!" she yelled, struggling against the strong and sinewy hairy arms of her Karzak captor. "You sold us out!"

**11.**

The Doctor whipped off his glasses and headed out of the control room at a run. "Come on, she's in trouble, we've got to help her!" he yelled over his shoulder.

Katherine hurried after him. "How do you know?"

"Those dots – they were Karzak!"

They left the auxiliary control room at a dash and back into the dark metal corridors of the _Eclipse._ The Doctor looked both ways to get his bearings then tore down the corridor, his long brown coat flapping behind him. They reached an intersection, skidded around it and almost cannoned straight into a patrol of three Karzak warriors who were walking up the corridor towards them.

The Karzak snarled in triumph at the sight of fresh prey, saliva dripping from the sharp teeth in their long muzzles. They reached to their belts where they carried long and deadly looking whips.

Katherine screamed as the creatures advanced towards them and the Doctor pushed her behind him. He knew that they could never escape the Karzak by trying to run; their legs were too long and powerful and would catch them in seconds. There was only one option.

"Ah, hello - good to see you" he bluffed. "Nice, um, electro-whips there; probably deliver enough charge to stun or kill as required. No self respecting pirate or slaver should be without one!"

The Karzak were savage, cruel, and had low cunning, but were not, as the Doctor had guessed, terribly bright. They were used to the humans on the ship running from them or cowering in terror. No-one had stood and actually talked to them. They looked at each other in confusion, their dark beady eyes narrowed.

The Doctor decided to press home with the advantage. "You're probably wondering who we are, what we're doing here and so on?" He paused as the creatures eyed him, snarling and panting, and then carried on. "Well you need to check with your commander; the plan has changed!"

"You have spoken to the General?" one of the Karzak grunted.

"Yes! Yes, that's right; you check with the General!" the Doctor nodded vigorously. As one of the Karzak pulled a communicator from its belt, he continued. "We'll just be," he pushed an open mouthed Katherine ahead of him, "down this corridor…….."

By the time the Karzak had looked around, the Doctor and Katherine had vanished.

**12.**

Megan and Weaver were held fast by the Karzak as Lyla Tann watched with a cold smile. "Oh, I sold them out a long time before you got on board! Who do you think sabotaged the ship in the first place?" she sneered.

Weaver was incensed. "How could you do that?" he shouted at her. "All the crew! Your friends!"

Lyla shook her head. "No friends of mine," she replied, "and the Karzak pay very well."

"We do indeed," snarled another low voice. From out of the darkness of one of the corridors loomed another Karzak. It was larger than the rest and more muscular. A long scar ran from the top of its head, across the bony ridge of muscle along the forehead and ended just above the large mouth that showed long, sharp teeth. The jerkin it wore was more ornate and decorated with what Megan thought were a patchwork of human scalps. She guessed that this was the Karzak leader.

The huge Karzak warrior put its paw on Lyla's shoulder. "You've done well Lyla, much better than my own warriors in fact." He turned and cuffed one of them across the help with enough force to break the neck of a horse. The Karzak yelped and cowered. "Idiots!" it roared. "I thought all the crew were taken and now I'm told there are more on the loose!"

Lyla nodded and pointed towards Megan. "The woman there mentioned some friends."

The Karzak leader smiled a terrible smile and grabbed hold of Megan, pulling her close to him. Megan tried vainly to stifle the terror she felt. "I am General Shalakur and I will find and hunt your friends," the Karzak gloated as the other Karzak warriors snarled and chattered. "My crew need some sport!" He turned back to Lyla. "Have you the access codes for the colony?"

Lyla nodded and produced the handheld scanner. "I loaded them into here just before I found these two. They took some pulling from the security files."

General Shalakur took the scanner and snarled with triumph. "Excellent, then we are ready to start the next phase!" He paused and then looked back at Megan and Weaver, his eyes filled with cunning. "Now we just have to wait until we arrive at the colony, I can allow my crew some distraction!"

**13.**

"What are you going to do with us?" Megan stammered weakly, trying to muster as much courage as she could.

Shalakur gave a cruel laugh. "An ancient tradition amongst my people called 'The Hunt'." The other Karzak panted eagerly, and suddenly released Megan and Weaver who looked around them in disbelief and growing panic. "We will give you time to run; to hide. If we catch you," Shalakur licked his lips, "we will eat you!"

Megan and Weaver looked at each other in horror at the prospect of the deadly hide and seek

Shalakur turned to Lyla. "Have you heard of our custom?"

Lyla nodded, her nose wrinkled with disdain. "Yes, it's barbaric, but that's your business."

Shalakur laughed again, an evil glint in his eyes. "Then you'll enjoy it when you take part!"

Lyla's eyes widened with fear and disbelief. "What do you mean? I helped you! You could never have done this without me!"

Shalakur nodded and held up the scanner. "But now your usefulness is over!" He pushed Lyla over to stand next to Megan and Weaver. "Run!" he growled. "Run or we'll eat you where you stand!" The other Karzak started pawing at the ground and emitting a high pitched baying.

Weaver grabbed Megan's hand. "Come on," he cried, "we've got to get out of here!" He started to pull her down the corridor as fast as he could.

Lyla looked after them. "What about me!" she shouted desperately.

"You're on your own Tann!" yelled Weaver over his shoulder.

"But we can't just leave her!" cried Megan

"Watch me!"

General Shalakur and the other Karzak howled with malicious laughter, panting and snarling excitedly. With a cry of terror, Lyla started running up the corridor behind Megan and Weaver. They turned a corner and pelted down another corridor. Much to Megan's alarm, the corridor ended at a hatch. Weaver pushed the control panel next to it but nothing happened.

Lyla ran up behind them. "Get the hatch open you fools!"

Megan turned on the other woman. "What do you think we're trying to do?"

Suddenly the baying from the Karzak got louder and Megan and the others could hear the creatures as they started down the corridor towards them.

'The Hunt' had begun.


	3. Chapter 3

**14.**

The Doctor and Katherine kept running until they were sure they had put enough distance between themselves and the Karzak patrol the Doctor had outwitted. The Doctor came to a halt at a junction in the corridor and took a great gulp of air as he looked about. He smiled at Katherine, a wicked glint in his eye. Katherine let go of his hand and leant against the wall of the corridor. She realised that the Doctor could run much faster than her but he never let go of her hand, always kept her with him. It's what made her trust him explicitly

"That went well I think," he grinned. "You okay?"

Katherine nodded. "I think so," she gasped between deep breaths. "Do you still know where Megan is?"

"I think so," replied the Doctor, "they should be just down here," he gestured down the main corridor, "through two or three hatches." He broke off as he noticed something down one of the corridors. "Hang about a sec."

The Doctor ran up the side corridor for a few metres and then stopped. Katherine followed on behind and saw him examine something that was lying on the floor. She followed behind, steeling herself for another gruesome discovery, but the Doctor, who was now crouched down, was examining the remains of two robots, similar to the ones that had attacked them earlier.

"The Karzak were too strong for these two," the Doctor said quietly, throwing a piece of debris back onto the pile of scrap metal. "They must have tried to defend the ship." Katherine was surprised by the Doctor's tone. These robots had attacked them earlier, but he seemed almost sad about their demise.

"This is interesting though," continued the Doctor, standing up and examining a small hatchway. He tapped on the panel next to it. "There are escape pods in there."

Katherine shrugged and rolled her eyes.

The Doctor grinned. "Sorry! They're small pods designed as lifeboats to let the crew escape if there's a disaster aboard the ship. The original crew never made it." He tapped his chin. "Could be useful though……."

Suddenly the whole ship juddered throwing Katherine off balance until she was caught by the Doctor. "What was that?" she asked in alarm.

"The ship has just left warp drive. We must be nearing our destination!"

**15.**

Weaver tore the control panel of the hatch from the wall, exposing the wiring beneath. They could all hear the terrifying panting and baying as the Karzak hunted them.

"Hurry up!" shouted Megan, looking over her shoulder, expecting the creatures to turn the corner and be on them at any moment.

"I'm going as fast as I can," replied Weaver through clenched teeth, his hands grabbing and twisting at wires inside the panel.

Lyla looked daggers at Weaver. "I knew you were a lazy fool Weaver!"

Megan couldn't believe the other woman's attitude. "And this is helping how?"

Weaver didn't even look up from what he was doing. "Better a bit work shy than a stuck up bitch!" There was a crackle of sparks from a wire and then with a screeching of metal on metal, the hatch slid slowly open.

Lyla pushed Megan out of the way and started to squeeze through the hatch. "About time!"

Megan grabbed Weaver and started to push him through the hatch as well. "Come on!" she yelled and then cried out as she risked a look over her shoulder. The Karzak had turned the corner and were bearing down on them, their long muzzles drawn back and saliva dripping from their sharp fangs.

Weaver and Megan got into the corridor the other side of the hatch and saw Lyla running down it as fast as she could. Suddenly however as the ship juddered, her legs slipped from under her and she crashed to the floor with a scream. Weaver grabbed Megan's hand as they too ran down the corridor and up to Lyla who lay on the floor clutching her knee.

"I can't move," she sobbed, tears streaming down her face.

To Megan's shock, Weaver didn't spare Lyla a glance, but shoved Megan past her and started to push her down the corridor to the next hatch.

"We can't just leave her!" Megan cried, struggling in his grip, but Weaver made no reply, his eyes fixed on the next hatch.

"Help me, please!" screamed Lyla desperately reaching out her hand towards them.

Behind her, the Karzak, still baying and snarling hungrily, appeared at the hatch.

**16.**

Weaver grabbed Megan by the shoulders. "Listen to me!" he shouted. "If we help her, we all die!"

Megan tore her eyes away from him and looked at Lyla trying to crawl towards them, her face a mask of terror. Tears streamed down Megan's face as she allowed Weaver to pull her away. They reached the next hatch and Weaver stabbed frantically at the control panel. This time they were lucky, and with a groan, the hatch slid open. They dashed through and Megan risked a look backwards.

The Karzak were now scrabbling up the corridor.

Lyla heard them and turned around and screamed.

Weaver picked up a piece of broken metal piping from the floor and smashed it against the control panel. With a spark, the hatch slammed shut behind them.

Megan closed her eyes as Lyla's scream stopped.

"We've got to keep moving," urged Weaver.

Megan nodded, wiping the tears from her face with the back of her hand. She took Weaver's offered hand and they started to run again until they turned a corner and skidded to a halt at the figures in front of them.

Megan's face lit up into a huge smile of relief. "Doctor!"

***********************

General Shalakur watched his warriors devour the corpse of the human female with a cunning smile. His crew always worked better after they had been rewarded with a fresh kill. It was what she deserved, being a traitor to her own kind. The General naturally had the position to take what flesh he wanted first, but the _Eclipse_ coming out of warp meant that he would forego this pleasure. For now, at least, he had a more important task.

He pulled a communicator from his belt and growled into it. "Bridge, this is Shalakur, give me a report."

A Karzak voice crackled from the communicator. "We've just entered the Garrok system, General. We'll be in orbit around the colony very soon. Have you the codes?"

Shalakur nodded, patting Lyla's scanner that he had on his belt. "I will bring them to you now." He switched the communicator off and turned to his crew, their jaws and muzzles now streaked with fresh blood. "Enough! It's time for the next phase. We must return to the bridge!"

**17.**

Megan hugged the Doctor tightly and then Katherine. "Thank God you're here Doctor," she gabbled. "There are these big dog things called Karzak aboard and they're going to kill everyone unless we can stop them!"

The Doctor nodded and tried to calm her near hysteria. "Megan, yes we know." He nodded towards Weaver. "Who's your friend?"

Weaver, still panting from their recent escape, took the Doctor's proffered hand and shook it. "I'm Cal Weaver; one of the ship's engineers."

"Good to meet you. Thanks for looking after her."

Megan smiled back at Weaver. "I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for Cal!" Suddenly she gasped. "Doctor, we've got to get out of here! There are Karzak just behind us, and their leader's nasty as Hell!"

The Doctor chewed his lip in thought. "Perhaps I ought to get acquainted with him?"

"Doctor…." warned Katherine, but the Doctor shushed her and turned back to Weaver and Megan.

"Do you know if the Karzak have the colony access codes yet?"

Weaver nodded; his face grim. "One of the crew turned traitor; she gave the Karzak leader the codes on a hand held scanner after she'd pulled them from the security files."

"But they haven't been entered into the ship's navigation computer on the bridge?" the Doctor asked urgently.

Megan and Weaver looked at each other blankly. Megan shrugged. "I don't know," she replied weakly.

The Doctor cupped his hand over his mouth in thought. "If those codes are entered it'll mean that the _Eclipse _will be able to land at the colony on Garrok 6 and the nothing will be able to stop the Karzak!" His mind raced. "Katherine, can you remember where we found those pods?"

Katherine nodded. "I think so."

"Good, take Megan and Cal there. I'll ….." The Doctor stopped and sniffed the air. "Can you smell burning?"

Katherine pointed to the hatch. "Look!" she gasped. Points of red energy that smoked with heat had appeared on the hatch at the end of the corridor where Megan and Weaver had come from.

Weaver turned to look. "It's the Karzak! I fused the panel; they must be burning their way through!"

**18.**

The Doctor made up his mind. "Katherine, get Megan and Cal to the pods. If I don't meet you in a few minutes, Cal will show you how to use them. Get off the _Eclipse_!"

"But what about you?" asked Megan.

"I'm going to chum up with the Karzak leader. See if I can't do something incredibly clever!"

Katherine shook her head, clutching at the Doctor's arm. "You can't, it's too dangerous!"

The Doctor looked at her closely, meeting her gaze; his eyes in hers, then smiled. "No choice, just go now!"

Katherine realised she couldn't change the Doctor's mind so instead hugged him and then stepped back and turned to Megan and Weaver. "Come on, this way."

Weaver, who knew the way to the escape pods anyway, nodded and took an overwhelmed Megan's hand. With a last look at the Doctor, who winked confidently at her, Katherine turned and led the other two quickly up the corridor of the ship. The Doctor watched them go and turn the corner out of sight. The big confident smile vanished from his face.

Putting his hands in the pockets of his long brown coat, his face impassive, he turned to confront the Karzak.

************************

The blue-white engines roaring, the battered cargo ship _Eclipse _sped through space. In the distance, getting steadily larger and larger, was the small blue and green colony world of Garrok 6.

************************

General Shalakur watched impatiently as his warriors burnt through the locked hatch with their blaster pistols. "Quicker!" he urged angrily, pacing back and forth, his eyes glinting. At last, as the holding rivets were finally burnt out, the smoking hatch fell with a crash to the deck.

Wasting no more time, Shalakur pushed his crew out of the way and stepped through the smoke and the hatch. His eyes widened as he saw the figure that stood in the corridor beyond. "Who are you?"

The man gave a grim smile. "I'm the Doctor! You must be the Karzak commander?"

"I am General Shalakur," grunted the Karzak warily, suspecting a trap. His muzzle wrinkled baring the sharp fangs in his mouth.

"Thought so," nodded the Doctor, watching as the other four Karzak came to stand behind their leader, snarling and panting in anticipation of another kill. "Don't suppose I can persuade you to leave this ship? Go back to your own which I imagine is shadowing the _Eclipse_, waiting for the energy shield around the colony to drop?"

Shalakur shook his shaggy head and laughed cruelly. "The colony is ours! We shall enslave the entire population once we're there!" He paused and licked his lips. "Those that we do not use for sport!"

The Doctor shook his head sadly. "But you're not there yet." His face hardened. "And I'm going to stop you!"

**19.**

Shalakur laughed at the Doctor's claim and the other Karzak joined in. One Karzak raised his blaster, ready to shoot the Doctor, but Shalakur knocked it from its grasp with a snarl. "No, this one is mine. I demand a kill!" Shalakur uncoiled the long and dangerous electro-whip from his belt. "Run Doctor, run or die!"

Much to Shalakur's amazement, the Doctor did neither but just stood there defiantly. Shalakur roared in anger and cracked the whip so that it lashed out with devastating force. The Doctor tried to dodge backwards, but the whip caught him across the arm. He cried out in pain as the electrical current coursed through his body.

Shalakur snarled with cruel pleasure, saliva dripping from his fangs. He took a few steps forward and lashed out again. This time the Doctor danced to one side and the whip snaked across the wall with a crackle of energy.

Shalakur stepped forwards, feinted to one side and then snapped the whip low so that it caught the Doctor across the legs. The Doctor gave a cry of pain and stumbled forwards, losing his balance. With amazing agility for his size, Shalakur strode forwards and caught the Doctor as he fell. He snarled in triumph and anger as he crushed the Doctor to him with bone breaking force.

The Doctor cried out in agony as the breath was being slowly squeezed from his body and the mighty Karzak's huge dripping jaws came closer and closer to his neck.

A sudden insistent bleeping emanated from the communicator on Shalakur's belt. The General gave a roar of irritation at the interruption, but reluctantly released the body of the Doctor that dropped lifelessly to the deck. He snatched the communicator in a huge paw. "I will be there!" he shouted into it.

Shalakur hesitated over the body of the Doctor, salivating at the desire for fresh blood, but then tore himself away and strode away up the corridor. "Hurry," he ordered," get to the hatches ready for attack. I will take the security codes for the energy shield to the bridge,

Behind them, the Doctor's body lay unmoving on the deck.

**20.**

Katherine, Megan and Weaver waited impatiently by the escape pods. Katherine paced up and down as Megan looked at her watch. "He's not coming," she said quietly looking at Katherine.

Katherine shook her head defiantly. "He is! We just have to wait a little longer!"

Weaver suddenly turned around. "Someone's coming!" he whispered.

Katherine caught her breath, but then realised that the footsteps were that of the Karzak that were coming up the corridor towards them. "Into these!" she ordered and they all ducked back into the escape pods. Fortunately, the Karzak, led by an impatient General Shalakur, had other things on their minds and strode past them without a second glance. With a sigh of relief, they stepped out from the pods.

"Miss me?" The sudden voice behind her made Katherine's heart fly into her mouth. She turned to see the Doctor standing there, beaming from ear to ear. Katherine hugged him but the Doctor winced and stepped away. "Are you alright?" she asked with concern. "What happened? What did you do?"

The Doctor smiled, but Katherine could see that he was in pain. "Yes, I'm alright. Respiratory bypass system; very tricky in tight situations." He clutched his sides and winced again. "And that was very tight! Now then," he turned to Weaver and shook his hand. "Nice meeting you, but I'd get into an escape pod if I were you!" Weaver looked at him open mouthed. "I've done something very clever that will mean the _Eclipse_ will be destroyed," the Doctor continued. "The colony authorities will pick you up." He started to usher Katherine and Megan up the corridor. "It's back to the TARDIS for us!"

********************

General Shalakur entered the final digits from the scanner into the navigational computer. "Energy shield deactivated," chimed the computer softly. Shalakur snarled in anticipation as the colony planet grew ever bigger on the view screen on the bridge of the _Eclipse_.

The ship juddered again. "Passing through energy shield," commented the computer automatically. Suddenly an alarm sounded on the panels. "Security code invalid," the computer continued still calm, "energy shield reactivated."

Shalakur gazed down at the codes in terror and then realised what the Doctor had done. He had reprogrammed the computer in the scanner whilst Shalakur had attempted to crush him – reprogrammed it to change code clearance when the ship entered the energy field itself. For the first and last time, Shalakur vowed never to underestimate his opponents again.

**********************

Caught in the energy shield as it reverted to maximum strength, the _Eclipse_ shook like a sailing ship in a hurricane until the stresses tore it to pieces in a huge explosion of fire and light.

_Next Time: The Doctor must face the consequences of his actions in '__**Never Say Die**__.' _

**The Karzak Gambit - Confidential**

This story began life as a simple adventure romp that introduced a new alien race that could always come back at some point if the need arose. The Karzak, a race of scavenger pirates that resemble hyenas (got to keep with RTD's 'space animal' theme) fit the bill admirably. In fact the Karzak (originally called Kharzak) were going to be a race of spider-like aliens in a totally different story that was written about two years ago, but the Racnoss have since filled that particular niche!

Of course, this story is also Megan's first trip in the TARDIS and the first scenes (deliberately) echo Mickey's first trip in 'The Girl in the Fireplace' as well. I knew this story had to be a strong one for Megan which is why she spent a lot of it split from the Doctor and Katherine and made to think on her own two feet.

There are only a few characters in this one, but the character of Lyla Tann bears a mention. I knew there had to be a saboteur on board, but the physical description of Lyla came from the 'casting' of Megan. When I was thinking of an actress for Megan, I looked at Anita Breim who played Sally Jacobs in 'The Christmas Invasion'. I thought she was a good actress, very pretty and her short, straight blonde hair would contrast nicely with Katherine's longer and curlier locks! Now this is how geeky I am. I went on the 'Spotlight' website to find out more about Breim and discovered that she was Nordic. Worried that she might not be able to pull off a Welsh accent for Megan, I went for Joanna Page instead and so Lyla Tann became 'compensation' for Breim for not getting the role of the companion! How sad is that? It does add some fun to writing the scripts though!

The other thing I knew this story must have is a 'physical' confrontation for the Doctor at the end. 'Time of the Witch' had a Doctor that used his intelligence to defeat his foes, 'Prison of Ice' and 'Splinter of Steel' had lucky chances to resolve them and 'Curse of the Jassra' had a battle of wills. 'Karzak' had to have a good old-fashioned duel between the Doctor and the alien leader. Great stuff!

But the tone of the stories changes abruptly as we 'Never Say Die'……..


End file.
